Rollers to play decider at home

THE Gold Coast Rollers have secured a home final after their stunning 115-81 win over Ipswich on Saturday night but not even a 34-point margin could satisfy coach Mick Conlon.

After getting out to a 15point lead at half time, Conlon said he had some stern words to his complacent troops.

“I got a bit angry at them and gave them a bit of a spray but we did the hard work and did the hard things,” he said.

“We were just being a bit lazy and careless with the ball.

“All the things that we’ve worked on all year, they were cutting corners on and we don’t want to develop bad habits heading into finals.

“It was a danger game and we talked about that before the game because they are playing for pride and nothing else.”

The dominant win means the Rollers will now host a QBL final in early August after travelling to face Townsville in week one of finals last year.

“The first goal we set as a team was to finish in the top four,” he said. “The boys have worked hard all year.”

Along with the win, Conlon was also impressed by the spread of contributors on Saturday night, with all 12 players affecting the contest.

“We had all 12 guys score, which is rare,” he said.

“The boys don’t care who top scores, we just want to win.”

The Rollers are still sweating on the fitness of star Anthony Petrie, who has now missed the past six matches with a knee injury, but Conlon is confident the Rollers can cover for the former Boomer should Petrie fail to appear in finals.

“I still believe we have the deepest team in the league,” he said.

“If he’s not one of the best five players in the competition then we’re kidding ourselves.

“We’re hoping to have him back for finals but it’s week by week at the moment.”